"In 2018, I believe the development [of a fuel-cell car] will have been very advanced," Fukui told Kyodo in an interview.

A fuel-cell car runs on power generated by oxygen in the air combining with hydrogen stored in a fuel tank. It emits harmless water vapor.

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Fukui noted that there are technological challenges to be resolved before fuel-cell cars becomes common, including improving the way in which hydrogen is stored and reducing the cost of producing hydrogen.

Kyodo said Fukui was confident that many customers will want to buy a fuel-cell car if it costs no more than about 10 million yen ($84,000).